


This "Love at First Sight" Business

by WinterSky101



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Blood, Bullshit Science, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, F/M, M/M, Post - The Avengers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-09-11
Updated: 2012-09-11
Packaged: 2017-11-14 00:16:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,223
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/509296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WinterSky101/pseuds/WinterSky101
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony, Bruce, and Pepper stay in Steve's apartment, after a scientific mishap in Stark Tower. Truths get out and people realize that others might know more about them than they do themselves. What happens next is up to them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	This "Love at First Sight" Business

"Damn it!"

Bruce jumped at the noise and his pipette hit the ground. It shattered into dozens of pieces at his feet. He swiftly took a step back from the broken glass and the quickly-spreading red liquid making a puddle around the shards.

"What's wrong?" Bruce asked Tony worriedly, thinking quickly of what might have happened.

"Nothing, nothing," Tony replied in a resigned tone. Not believing him, Bruce went over to see him standing with a slightly shocked expression on his face. He was holding a blackened test tube near a still-flaming Bunsen burner and his face was also covered in dark ash.

"What happened?" Bruce demanded as he cautiously turned off the burner, wary of getting too close.

"JARVIS distracted me," Tony whined.

 _"I informed you, as you instructed me to, that Miss Potts had returned,"_ JARVIS explained, sounding as if it was sighing.

"Yeah, but you should have waited until I was done taking the test tube off the Bunsen burner!" Tony argued.

_"My instructions, the ones you gave me, were to-"_

"Mute," Tony interrupted irritably, wearing a child-like expression. JARVIS's voice abruptly cut off.

Bruce laughed. "You should get cleaned up before Pepper comes in. And I should…" This time, it was Bruce's turn to swear as he remembered the puddle he had left on the floor of the lab. As quickly as he could, he rushed back to his own experiment. The puddle of red liquid was still there, seemingly untouched.

Tony followed, wiping his face with a slightly damp towel. "What's that?" he asked, leaning down to touch the liquid.

"Don't!" Bruce yelled. Tony jumped and almost fell forward, but Bruce grabbed him and pulled him back.

"What  _is_  that?" Tony demanded, staring warily at the innocuous-looking puddle.

Bruce grabbed a rag and began to mop up the spill. "It's my blood," he mumbled, continuing to wipe up the liquid.

Tony's eyes went wide and he harshly grabbed Bruce's arm. Bruce flung the rag away in shock as Tony yanked his sleeve up. A reddened IV mark looked slightly irritated on the crook of his elbow.

"Bruce!" Tony complained. Bruce avoided his eyes. "I thought we agreed you wouldn't do that!"

"You agreed," Bruce replied in a slightly petulant tone. "I never said anything."

"Bruce!" Tony repeated, his voice angry and getting angrier. "You can't keep doing this! You'll kill yourself!" Bruce looked down, embarrassed. Tony also felt a bit ashamed at bringing up the topic, now forbidden between the two. They  _didn't_  discuss suicide.

"It's my blood. My choice. I have to see if it has the key to reversing-"

"Why do you want to reverse it?" Tony yelled.

"Because I hurt people!" Bruce yelled back. "I can't control it, and-"

Bruce was cut off again, but this time, it was by an ominous sound coming from Tony's abandoned experiment. The two men looked over cautiously. There was a liquid bubbling over in the abandoned test tube. It slid down until it hit the floor, then crept along until it touched the rag soaked with Bruce's blood.

"Tony?" Bruce asked cautiously.

"Yes?" Tony replied in the same tone.

"What did you make over there?"

"I was trying to make a new substance for my arc reactor, just in case. It  _might_  be radioactive."

"Get out!" Bruce yelled, watching in horror as the rag began to smoke. "Tony! Get out! Now!"

Tony began to run for the door of the lab, but Bruce knew he wouldn't get out in time. He felt the burning urge to change into the Hulk, but he fought it. Then an idea came to him. Bruce closed his eyes, hoped, and let go.

The Hulk roared to life almost instantaneously. In front of him was tiny-tin-can-man, without his tin can on. Hulk needed to save tiny-tin-can-man. He knew that. The Hulk's green arm shot out and wrapped around tiny-tin-can-man's waist.

"Whoa! Hulk! What the…" The Hulk ignored the noise and tensed to jump. He flung himself out the window right as the reaction between the blood and the unknown liquid from the other experiment finished. There was a loud boom and the Hulk found himself flying out far faster than he had expected. The tower was still standing, but the third floor lab was smoking.

"Pepper," tiny-tin-can-man gasped. The Hulk knew Pepper. She was tiny-fire-head-woman. She was still in the tower. The Hulk dropped tiny-tin-can-man and jumped back into the building.

Tiny-fire-head-woman was looking shocked at the explosion when the Hulk found her. "H-Hulk?" she stuttered out. The Hulk grabbed her, ignoring her squeals and pounding fists, and tried to leave with her.

But, as dimwitted as the Hulk might've been, he knew the tower wouldn't last much longer.  _He_  could handle the falling rock. Tiny-fire-head-woman couldn't. As gently as he could, the Hulk took tiny-fire-head-woman and tossed her outside. She hit tiny-tin-can-man and the two fell over.

And hundreds of pounds of concrete fell directly on top of the Hulk.

* * *

"Bruce!" Tony screamed as Stark Tower crumbled to the ground with his friend still in it. "Bruce!" His second cry was louder, but it still brought no response. Tony tried to run back to the tower, but Pepper grabbed his arm and held him back.

"Let go of me!" Tony demanded, his voice inching towards hysteria. "Bruce is in there! BRUCE!"

"Tony, listen to me!" Pepper demanded. "Bruce is going to be fine. He's in there as the Hulk, after all. He'll be fine." There was movement in the rubble and Pepper pointed triumphantly. "See, he's right… there…"

Pepper's voice trailed off as she and Tony watched a giant, Hulk-sized figure melt down to a smaller, normal-sized form. Bruce took one shaky-looking step, then collapsed. Without pausing to think, Tony sprinted forward and grabbed Bruce's limp body. He attempted to heave the unmoving form into his arms and found, to his shock, that he could. He assumed it was due to adrenaline and didn't question his newfound strength. As gently as he could, Tony lifted Bruce fully and rushed back over to where Pepper stood in safety.

"My God," Pepper gasped, seeing the cuts all over Bruce's battered body. "We need to get him to the hospital!"

"We can't," Tony contradicted. "His blood is radioactive. If we take him to a hospital, they won't know what to do. Plus, beeping noises irritate him and can sometimes make him transform, especially if he's not thinking straight. We don't want to risk the heartbeat monitor making him hulk out. Not in a hospital."

"S.H.I.E.L.D., then?" Pepper asked in a somewhat dubious voice. She knew what Tony's opinions on the organization were.

"I don't trust them. And especially not with Bruce. I wouldn't put it past any of them to just want to study him," Tony answered, shifting his friend's weight slightly. The strain of carrying Bruce was beginning to get to him.

"Then where?" Pepper demanded in exasperation.

Tony pulled out his phone. "One Avenger never left New York," he replied slightly cryptically, dialing a phone number.

* * *

Steve was watching the news when the emergency bulletin came up.

 _"Oh my,"_ the newscaster stated in a shocked voice as she got a slip of paper. _"Oh my. Well, it seems there's been an explosion in central New York."_ Steve stood and reached for his shield. This had to be another attack. He could fight in his normal clothes if he had to. _"The center of the explosion seems to have been Stark Tower,"_ the newscaster added. Steve froze. Stark Tower… Oh no. _"There only seemed to have been three people within the building at the time: Mr. Tony Stark himself, his aide Miss Virginia Potts, and his new lab assistant Dr. Bruce Banner."_

The woman on the television continued talking, but Steve ignored the words. Dr. Banner had been there. Had this been the Hulk's doing? No, Steve was sure a giant green creature would have been mentioned in the bulletin. Still, Steve had to get down there. He grabbed his shield - just in case - and was just about to grab the keys to his motorcycle when the phone rang.

He considered not picking it up. He had to get to Stark Tower immediately. He couldn't take a social call. Then again, what if it was Fury, calling to say the explosion was some sort of alien attack, as he had thought? Or maybe it was Agent Romanoff or Agent Barton, calling to give more information. After all, barely anyone knew his number. Steve sighed and took the call.

"Hello?" he asked in a tense tone.

 _"Rogers?"_ asked a familiar voice.

Steve did a double-take, shocked. "Stark?"

_"Yeah, it's me. Listen, can we come over to your apartment? My place kinda…"_

"Exploded?" Steve finished dryly. "I saw it on the news."

 _"Oh."_ Stark sounded nonplussed. _"It's already on the news? It happened like five minutes ago. Huh. That's quick. Anyway, can we stay at your apartment until I can make arrangements to get to my other house?"_

"Uh, sure," Steve replied, slightly surprised by the blatant display of wealth. "You, Miss Potts, and Dr. Banner?"

 _"Yes, sir,"_ Stark replied in a sarcastic tone. _"Pepper's car isn't too badly damaged, so we should get there in about… five minutes? Ten if traffic's bad."_

"Stark?" Steve asked, right when it seemed as if Tony was going to hang up. "Is this… Hulk's fault?" Steve knew how touchy Stark got when Bruce was accused of things because of his alter ego, but he had to know. He hoped Stark wouldn't bite his head off for asking.

 _"No. Hulk saved my life and Pepper's."_ Steve's eyes widened in surprise. _"So, see you in five!"_ And Stark hung up.

Steve dazedly put down the phone. Hulk saving Stark was surprising, but not all that shocking. He had already done that when Stark had fallen out of the portal. But saving _Pepper_? That was strange. There was a certain charisma between Stark and Dr. Banner that the Hulk seemed to also understand. But Dr. Banner hardly knew Miss Potts.

If Hulk had saved her, what did that mean?

* * *

"Turn left here!" Tony called from the back seat.

Pepper quickly swerved and managed to make the turn, even though she nearly crashed. She silently thanked whoever was up there that the road was mostly clear, or she would have probably caused an accident.

"Can you tell me where to turn  _before_  we pass it?" she demanded irritably.

"A little busy back here," Tony shot back. Pepper peeked in the rear-view mirror and had to admit that Tony had a point. He was tearing up his shirt to bandage Bruce - Bruce's own shirt hadn't survived the transformation into the Hulk - while also trying to have as little contact with the seeping blood as possible. Considering the amount of cuts and blood, it was a difficult task.

"Why did Hulk save us?" Pepper asked abruptly.

In the back seat, Tony shrugged. "He'd already saved me, and he went for you after I said your name."

"So Hulk saved both of us for you, then?" Pepper asked.

Tony shrugged again, looking distinctly uncomfortable. "I don't know that he did it for  _me_ , Pepper. I mean, Bruce likes you too. Maybe the Hulk knew that somehow."

"I thought Hulk didn't know what Bruce knows," Pepper replied, her voice carefully neutral.

It didn't fool Tony. "Pepper, don't. Just- Right turn here!"

Pepper swerved madly and made the turn, but just barely. She heard a low groan from the back seat and checked in the rear-view mirror. Bruce's face was contorted in a slight frown and Tony was watching him closely. Pepper saw the tenderness on Tony's face and tore her gaze away. A tear threatened to fall, but she fought it. She had known since Bruce moved in that he and Tony were close. She knew she had to permanently break the relationship she had with Tony off soon, but she didn't want to. It hurt, but it would be better in the long run if they split up. Still…

"Here's his apartment. On the right. Right here, Pepper! Oh, look, he's standing outside. Right there! Are you going to park or not?"

Pepper pulled into the parking space slightly irritably. She suddenly felt  _so_  bad for Tony's poor chauffeur. Then her door opened and she found herself staring at Captain America himself.

He looked worried and his eyes were darting to the backseat, but the courtesy he had grown up around had dictated that he aid Pepper out before going to his teammates. Quickly, Pepper scrambled out of the car and shut the door behind her. Captain Rogers swiftly went over to the back door and helped Tony carry out Bruce's unmoving body. He went as if to take it, but Tony gave him a look that stopped him in his tracks. Tony took Bruce inside and Captain Rogers came over Pepper with a slightly-strained smile.

"You must be Miss Potts," he stated in a soft voice. His voice was gentle and he looked to be a mild-mannered person. "I'm Steve Rogers. You can just call me Steve."

"Only if you call me Pepper," Pepper replied in a voice that sounded much more lighthearted than she actually felt. "Miss Potts makes me feel like someone's scolding me."

That dragged a slight laugh out of Steve, though he was still obviously concerned. "Okay, Pepper."

The two entered the house together and found that Tony was still holding Bruce's limp form and obviously straining slightly under the weight. "Where should I put him, Capsicle?"

"Bedroom's down the hall, Stark," Steve shot back, his voice slightly teasing, just as Tony's had been. Tony nodded in thanks and went down the hall. Steve turned to Pepper."Um, do you want to sit down?" Quickly, Steve moved his shield off the couch. Pepper took a moment to revel in the fact that that was _Captain America's shield_ and sat down.

Steve reached over and turned off the television, which was playing softly in the background, then stood awkwardly. "Do you, uh, want anything to drink?" It seemed as if it had been a long time since Steve had had a visitor at his house, let alone a woman.

Pepper took pity on the poor man, who seemed to be very confused as to what to do. "I'm fine, thank you. I think I'll go see if Tony needs any help with Bruce, if that's alright with you."

"Uh, sure. Of course it's okay." Pepper stood and went over to the hallway. The second the living room was out of sight, she heard scuffling and smiled. She had seen the way Steve had frantically eyed the trash strewn around the room and was giving him a chance to tidy up a bit. She  _did_  want to see Bruce as well, though the thought of seeing Tony and Bruce together made her heart twinge a little. But she had to rise above her more petty jealousy. Bruce was a friend, and he was badly hurt. If he needed help, she would be willing to provide it.

"Tony?" Pepper asked, gently rapping her knuckles against the ajar door. She heard a noise from inside and Tony's face appeared at the door.

"What is it, Peps?" Tony asked, wiping blood off his hands with a scrap of his shirt.

Pepper managed to control her revulsion at seeing so much red. "I was wondering if there was anything I could do for Bruce," she replied, trying to peek in past Tony. He shifted slightly, blocking her view. Pepper felt like she had just been punched in the stomach.

The feeling must have shown on her face, since Tony looked instantly contrite. "I'm sorry, Pepper, but I think I should be the only one doing this right now. I don't want more people in contact with his blood than need be." Pepper had two choices: accept the lie or force the truth.

"We both know that's not the only reason, Tony," she replied. She was going for a harsh voice, but it just came out sad.

Tony looked down. "Not now, Pepper. Please."

"If not now, then when?" Pepper demanded. "We need to talk, Tony. Sooner rather than later."

"Look, Pepper, I have a friend badly injured here-"

"He's not just a friend. I know that, Tony. I'm not an idiot, and I'm not blind."

There was a low moan from inside the bedroom and Tony started to turn. Pepper made a little choked noise that she hadn't meant to let out and Tony turned back around to face her, looking ashamed.

"Look, Pepper, I-"

"We're done, Tony," Pepper whispered. "I can't do this any more. I can't stand here and watch you so obviously want Bruce instead of me and just let it go."

"Pepper…" Tony had no defense and he knew it. "Pepper, I'm sorry."

"I know. But I also know you'd rather be with Bruce." Pepper leaned over and pressed a kiss to Tony's forehead. "Go help him," she whispered, gesturing at Bruce.

Tony caught Pepper in a tight hug, then released her. "Thank you, Pepper," he whispered back.

Pepper managed a smile through the tears she felt threatening to fall. As quickly as she could, she left the doorway and continued down the hall at what was practically a run. At the end of the hall was a small balcony. That was Pepper's desired destination. She reached it and threw the doors open. A tear slipped down her face as she stepped out. The slight wind toyed with her hair, which had fallen out of her normal sleek ponytail. Pepper turned around and looked down the hall. It was empty. She was alone.

And Pepper began to cry.

"Pepper?" She jumped upon hearing the voice and whirled around. Behind her was Steve somehow, though he hadn't been there a second ago, his hands raised slightly in surrender, palms out. "It's just me."

"Oh." Quickly, Pepper wiped the tears from her face. "Hello, Steve."

"Are you alright? Did Stark do something?" The fury in Steve's eyes was shocking, considering he barely knew Pepper and had fought alongside Tony to save the world.

"Tony didn't do anything. But we just broke up."

"Stark broke up with you?" Steve demanded angrily. His hands curled into fists and his face suddenly looked murderous.

"No. Other way around," Pepper replied dismally, surprised at the rage she saw on Steve's face.

"You broke up with him?" Steve asked, his voice now sounding confused. Pepper nodded slightly, wiping her eyes again as more treacherous tears threatened to escape. "But... Why?"

"It wasn't working. It just… Tony's in love with Bruce." The last sentence wasn't supposed to slip out, but it somehow did.

Steve looked as if he had just been hit on the head. " _Stark_ is in love with  _Dr. Banner_?" Steve's voice showed his complete and total shock.

Pepper laughed, a dry, humorless sound. She put her hands on the railing and looked out, not wanting to face Steve at the moment. "It's not a big deal anymore, Steve. They could even get married if they wanted to. But I could tell that Tony loved Bruce, and I'm pretty sure Bruce loves him back. It would be best for all of us if I just got out of their way."

Steve laughed dryly and put his hand over Pepper's on the railing. Pepper turned her head to look at him."You are an incredible woman, Pepper Potts," he stated softly. He was leaning down slightly and Pepper found herself straightening to her full height. Steve's face dropped a bit more and Pepper got up on tip-toe.

Their lips touched.

"I'm sorry," Pepper stated suddenly, pulling away. Her blood rushed to her face and she knew she was blushing. "I just can't- I'm sorry."

Pepper turned and raced back inside, leaving Steve in shock behind her.

* * *

Steve's hand went to his mouth. The ghostly tingle of Pepper's lips on his own, though it had only happened for half a second, still lingered. He didn't know how it had happened. But… He had been looking at Pepper and she had reminded him of Peggy.

Peggy… The very name made Steve's heart twinge. She was dead. S.H.I.E.L.D. had sponsored a visit to her grave for him. She had married. The last name on her gravestone wasn't Carter. He tried not to think about her too much. It still hurt. But something about Pepper… Her strength, maybe. The way she put others before herself. Or maybe it was the way that she tried to appear composed, even when inside she was crying. Whatever it was, it had prompted Steve to kiss her.

And she had run away.

He understood why. It was obvious. She had just broken up with Tony minutes before. Of course she wouldn't be ready for a new relationship. But still, a big part of Steve wished she had stayed. He wished he could have just one more kiss. He wanted to love her the way she should be loved, to worship her.

And that was when Steve realized he was completely head-over-heels about a woman he had just met.

Perhaps the "love at first sight" business that happened in fiction could happen in real life too.

* * *

Bruce blearily came to, his muscles sore and most of his body in pain. The second he opened his eyes, a familiar face was there, leaning over him.

"Holy crap, Tony!" he gasped in shock.

Tony pulled back with a smile. "I guess it does work," he mused.

Bruce looked at him cautiously. "You guess what works?" he asked, his voice only showing a little bit of his worry.

"Kissing someone to make them wake up."

Bruce felt his eyes widen comically and Tony burst into laughter. "Your face!" he chortled, barely managing to get the words out. "Oh my God, I can't believe you fell for that!"

"Not funny, Tony," Bruce replied in a scolding voice, trying to keep from smiling fondly at the antics of his friend.

"Oh come on. You know it was hilarious. You're trying not to laugh right now, aren't you?"

Bruce managed to keep the annoyed expression for a moment longer before his face melted into a smile. "I wouldn't go so far as to say I would laugh, nor would I say it was hilarious. But it could have been worse, I suppose."

"Like if I had actually kissed you?" Tony asked, a note of… something in his voice.

Bruce wasn't sure what it was, but he told the truth. "No, it could have been much worse than that." Tony's face brightened. "So, how long have I been out? And, um, where am I?" The room was unfamiliar and Bruce felt slightly uncomfortable in it.

"We're in Rogers' apartment. Since your blood blew up Stark Tower." Tony huffed in fake annoyance.

"My blood blew it up? What about your new element that you left unattended?" Bruce shot back teasingly.

Tony stuck his tongue out at him. "That was JARVIS's fault."

"Yeah, sure, blame JARVIS," Bruce replied with a long-suffering sigh. "Which you invented, actually, so any fault of JARVIS's goes to you as well."

"Stop being logical," Tony whined. "It's annoying."

"So sorry to be ruining Tony-land with reality," Bruce joked.

"You could never ruin Tony-land, Bruce," Tony replied in a voice that was far too serious. Suddenly, the dynamic changed and it wasn't a game anymore.

Bruce wished he had his glasses, just so his hands could do something. "So what  _did_  happen to Stark Tower?" he asked after a pause, changing the topic.

Tony grimaced slightly. "You turned into the Hulk and saved me. Then you went back in to get Pepper. The building started to fall and you threw Pepper to me and the building fell on you. You got out, turned back to normal, then we brought you here."

"That wasn't me. That was the other guy," Bruce replied, hating the words. He couldn't even save his friends. A monster could, but he was useless.

"You  _are_  the Hulk, Bruce," Tony argued. "You're the Hulk and Dr. Bruce Banner. They're the same person."

"No we're not." Bruce didn't want to hear the contention that he and the Hulk were one and the same. "The Hulk is completely separate from who I am."

"No, he isn't! Why can't you see that? If he is separate, why did he save Pepper?"

"I don't know! But not because we're the same person!"

"How are you so sure?!" Tony demanded, his voice loud.

"Because if it was me, then I was the one that hurt all those people!" Bruce yelled back. He took a deep breath, knowing his heartbeat was rising, and tried to remain calm. His voice was much softer when he continued speaking. "And I can't deal with that."

"Hulk saved me. Twice. And Pepper. He helped save the goddamn world, Bruce!"

"Hulk also almost killed my ex-girlfriend! And he's responsible for at least a hundred other deaths! He's not me, Tony! He… He can't be."

"Bruce…"

"So what's the story?" Bruce interrupted. "With the explosion? What are you telling the press?" In response, Tony threw a newspaper at his friend. Bruce scanned it quickly. The world thought it was a lab accident, but there wasn't much detail. He looked up in confusion.

"The press thinks I'm your lab partner?"

"I had to tell them something. Since they don't know you're the Hulk, I couldn't exactly tell them that after we saved the world, you needed some downtime and stayed at Stark Tower with me. You are, however, a genius-level physicist, so I figured you could pass as a lab partner to the general masses."

"What does the 'general masses' think happened to us after the place blew up?" In response, Tony jabbed a finger at the bottom of the article.  _It is unknown exactly what occurred in Stark Tower, but the CEO of Stark Industries and Mr. Stark's alleged girlfriend, Miss Virginia Potts, has confirmed that no one was badly injured during the explosion. Mr. Stark, Miss Potts, and Dr. Banner are rumored to be going to Mr. Stark's home in Malibu, California while Stark Tower is reconstructed._

"Of course, we had  _just_  fixed up the whole place after the Chitauri attack, but whatever. I have the money to redo it. Anyway, my Malibu place is really nice. You'll like it. I haven't actually been there for a while, but it's still a really nice place. Not quite as good as Stark Tower, in my opinion, but still good. The lab isn't quite as elaborate, but it's still big."

"Oh. Well, anything's probably better than the hovel I was living in a year ago, so I'm sure it'll be fine." Bruce attempted to sit up and his body erupted in pain. He seemed to reopen cuts he didn't know he had and also pull on ever single strained muscle in his body.

Tony quickly grabbed him right before his head hit the headboard of the bed. "Whoa. Careful there, Bruce. You don't want to hurt yourself." Bruce allowed Tony to gently lower him back down onto the bed. "There was one thing that article got wrong, by the way," Tony remarked conversationally.

Bruce looked at him in confusion. "What?"

"Pepper. It said she was my girlfriend."

Bruce studied Tony intently for a moment. Perhaps the explosion had hurt his head. "She  _is_  your girlfriend, Tony."

"Not any more. She broke up with me. She did it about an hour ago, actually. It just wasn't working out between us."

"Oh. I'm sorry, Tony." Bruce hated the guilty little bit of him that was glad his friend had broken up with his girlfriend. It was a horrible thing to think, since he was probably hurting over it. He was surprised Tony wasn't completely drunk, actually.

"Don't be. It wasn't working. I was going to break up with her soon anyway if she hadn't done it."

"Oh." That was slightly surprising. Bruce had thought Tony and Pepper had a solid relationship. "How long were you two dating?"

Tony shrugged. "Um, a little over a year, I think. Very on-and-off. We split up all the time and then got back together. Our most recent streak was almost four months. That was a long one. We actually didn't see each other for most of it."

"So, if you break up a lot and then get back together, do you think you'll start dating again soon?" Bruce was half afraid of the answer, half of him hoping the answer would be no for his own sake and the other half wishing it would be yes for his friend's.

"No," Tony replied, shaking his head. Half of Bruce was ecstatic. "This time was different."

"Why?" Bruce could hardly breathe as Tony's eyes caught his.

"Because, this time we broke up because I like someone else."

Bruce felt his heart pounding. He fought to slow it down, not wanting to risk turning into the Hulk.

"How long have you liked this person?"

"Since we met," Tony replied, his voice carefully not giving anything away. "I met them not too long ago, actually, but it was…this is going to sound so cliché, but it was love at first sight." Instantly, Tony made a face. "I can't believe I just said that!"

Bruce laughed nervously, then asked the question he had been dying to let out. He did his best to keep his voice steady, but it still shook a little as he asked, "Who do you like?"

"You."

* * *

"Pepper!"

Steve was desperate to catch up with Pepper. He had been trying to find her for the past half hour, but she seemed to be avoiding him as she went from press release to meeting. He didn't care.

"Pepper!"

Finally, Pepper turned to face him. She waved away her car, saying something about walking instead. The car drove off and she walked up to Steve. "What do you want, Steve?"

"To talk. We need to talk about what happened."

"Nothing happened," Pepper replied automatically. "It… It was a mistake."

"It was more than that and you know it," Steve shot back, ignoring the pang he felt at her words. "You can't just pretend that nothing happened."

"Steve…" Pepper's voice was a whisper. "I can't."

"Then why did you do it? Why did you kiss me?" Steve shot back.

" _You_  kissed  _me_!" Pepper argued.

"We kissed each other, Pepper! It doesn't matter who did it first!"

"Steve, please." Pepper gently put her hand on Steve's chest.

He grabbed it and pulled her closer until her body was pressed against his. "Pepper. Tell me the truth. Did you mean to kiss me?"

"No," Pepper replied honestly. Steve looked at her. "No. Truthfully. It was completely spur-of-the-moment. I didn't know I was going to do it until our lips touched."

"Did you enjoy it?"

"Yes," she breathed, the truth falling from her lips.

"Then do it again."

Pepper tilted her head up. Steve put his lips right near hers, letting her make the final move. She did, and suddenly, Steve was in heaven.

After all, where else would one be able to kiss an angel?

* * *

Bruce felt as if he had been hit in the head. Tony had just told him he liked him. Tony, the genius/billionaire/playboy/philanthropist, liked  _him_ , a scientist with severe anger management problems. He wasn't quite sure how this was possible. The thought passed his mind that this had the high probability of being a dream, but he pushed that notion aside. If it was, he didn't want to wake up.

"I understand if you don't feel the same way. I mean, I don't expect anything. I know this is too much to ask of you. I just thought you deserved to know the truth. If you want to leave or anything, I'll give you the money you need. I can buy you a plane ticket to anywhere you want to go."

"Tony." Tony looked up with an expectant expression on his face. "Stop talking. Please. Let me think for a moment." Tony quickly stopped talking. Bruce wanted to smile, but he held it in. "Come here." Looking slightly confused, his friend did as he asked. Bruce propped himself up on his elbows and kissed Tony tenderly.

When he pulled back, Tony's eyes were wide, almost comically so. "Bruce…"

"Is that a good answer? Does that explain things for you?" Bruce whispered. "I don't want to leave. If it's alright for you, I don't ever want to leave. Now get back down here and kiss me again."

"I'd be happy to," Tony replied. He helped Bruce up to a sitting position and began to kiss him with so much passion Bruce thought he might burst. Neither man registered the sound of the door opening.

However, Bruce did see, out of the corner of his eye, a very shocked Captain America. "Tony," he whispered, pulling back.

Tony turned back and looked just as amazed as Steve when his gaze zeroed in on the fact that Pepper, who was also in the doorway, was holding hands with Steve.

"I think you broke my new boyfriend," Pepper teased, looking at Bruce with a smile.

"B-b-b…" Tony's voice trailed off in shock.

Bruce looked at him, then turned to Pepper. "I think you broke mine, so we're even," he joked back. Once the words left his lips, he wasn't sure if he should have said them, but it was too late to take them back. But Pepper didn't look upset at the news. On the contrary, her eyes lit up and Bruce suddenly felt as if he had just made her day. Which was strange, because Bruce was pretty sure it wasn't normal for your boyfriend's ex-girlfriend to look excited at the fact that he had moved on that quickly.

"So you  _do_  like Tony! I was a little worried for a bit that I had brought his hopes up for nothing, but turns out I was right. Women's intuition wins again!"

"Wait. You… You knew?" Bruce stuttered out. He felt as if he was going down the same "broken" road as Tony.

"Suspected, at least." Pepper looked from Tony to Steve. "Should we potentially do something about our boyfriends?"

"Oh." Bruce looked over at Tony, who still looked completely stunned. "Yeah, maybe. Help me up, please?" Pepper smiled and went over to aid Bruce with standing. Once on his feet, he slowly guided Tony onto the bed to sit down.

Pepper led Steve over to sit next to Tony, then looked at Bruce. "So. What should we do now?"

"I'll tell you embarrassing stories about Steve from our time working together if you tell me embarrassing stories about Tony," Bruce suggested.

Pepper grinned. "It's a deal."

* * *

Tony and Steve cautiously exited the bedroom together after both getting over their shock. They had discussed it together (and nearly gone into shock again a few times), and in the end, both came to terms with the new relationships and were ready to leave the bedroom and find their respective partners.

Who seemed to be in the middle of some sort of fit.

"Did Steve actually just walk around in his full suit, all around the helicarrier?" Pepper gasped out in the middle of laughing.

"Did Tony actually think he would score bonus points by getting you the one thing you're allergic to?" Bruce managed to reply through his own mirth.

"Um, guys?" Tony asked.

Both looked up at him. Bruce instantly burst into renewed peals of laughter. Pepper managed to calm herself - Bruce hadn't known Steve as long as she had known Tony, and thus there were fewer funny stories. Still, it was an effort to keep from laughing.

"Oh. Hello. We were just talking about you…" Pepper couldn't help it and she started laughing again, doubled over.

Bruce couldn't control himself either, and Tony and Steve stared at them for quite a while before they were able to calm down. "Pepper and I were sharing funny stories about you two. It got to be very amusing."

"I can see," Steve replied dryly, giving Bruce a look. Tony was giving the same look to Pepper. Neither looked too cowed.

It took at least a quarter of an hour, but finally, Bruce and Pepper managed to gain enough control to stop laughing upon seeing their boyfriends' faces. The four looked at each other.

"Double date at the shawarma place?" Tony asked. Everyone was quick to respond.

"Sounds great," Steve replied, standing.

"I should probably get changed first," Bruce added, looking at the scraps of pants that were the only thing on his body.

"I'll go get the car ready," Pepper finished, going for her keys.

Ten minutes later, a strange quartet was eating shawarma and laughing together. A pair of men kept kissing and whispering comments to each other, while another man blushed when he overheard anything or saw the two kissing. A red haired woman laughed and kissed him whenever he looked embarrassed. The owner of the shop ignored them. He'd had odder customers.

**Author's Note:**

> My writing tumblr is [here](http://winterskywrites.tumblr.com/), if you're interested.


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